Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants to link American teachers’ pay to American students’ performance. Teachers unions have always said no. They are still very wary of that straight equation.

But one big teachers union leader is signaling she’s ready to talk.

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. This month she said she’s ready to work with school districts to revamp teacher evaluation and to make student performance — test scores — part of that evaluation.

In the teaching world, that’s big.

This hour, On Point: Randi Weingarten, on sizing up America’s teachers.

Charles Barone, director of federal policy at the advocacy group Democrats for Education Reform. From 2001 and 2003, he served as Deputy Staff Director for the House Education and Labor Committee under Democratic Congressman George Miller of California.

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